APOCALYPTIC AND THE NEW TESTAMENT Essays in Honor of J. Louis Martyn edited by doel Marcus and Marion L. Soards 16110 Journal for the Study of the New Testament Supplement Series 24Copyright © 1989 Shell Academie Press Published by JSOT Pres JSOT Presi an imprint of Sheela Academic Pres Lid Sheffield $10 3BP England Printed in Great Bian by Billing & Sons Led Worcester British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Apocalyptic and the new testament. 1. Bible. NC. Eschatology K Marcus, Joel”. Soatés, Marion J.Louis iV. Series pee 236 CONTENTS Foreword RAYMOND E. BROWN ‘A Personal Word Abbreviations List of Contributors RICHARD E. STURM J the Word ‘Apocalyptic ‘ Problem in Biblical Criticism JOEL MARCUS “The time has been fulfilled!” (Mark 1.15) JANE SCHABERG Mark 14,62: Early Christian Merkabah Imagery? STEPHENSON H. BROOKS ‘Apocalyptic Paraenesis in Matthew 6.19.34 ©. LAMAR COPE “Tp the close of the age’: The Role of Apocalyptic Thought in the Gospel of Matthew ROBIN SCROGGS Eschatological Existence in Matthew and Paul: Coincidentia Oppositorum ‘THOMAS E. BOOMERSHINE Epistemology at the Turn of the Ages in Paul, Jesus, and Mark: Rhetoric and Dialectic in Apocalyptic and the New Testament 2B 15 49 9 95 13 125 47MARTINUS C. DE BOER Paul and Jewish Apocalyptic Eschatology RICHARD B. HAYS “The Righteous One’ as Eschato F s ical Deliverer: A Case Study in Paul's Apocalpe Hermeneutics JUDITH L. Kovacs ie Archons, the Spirit, and the Death of Cl ist: Do we Need the Hypothesis of Gnostic Opponents to Explain 1 Corinthians 2.6-16? MARION L. SOARDS Secking (eétein) and Sinning (hamarta smartia according to Galagans 217 0 am amarts) CHARLES P, ANDERSON Who Are the Heirs of the new Ay in the Epistle to the Hebrews? NANCY J. DUFF ‘The Significance of Pauline Apocal for Theological Ethics i PAUL LEHMANN Barmen and the Church's Call to Fait ; ithfuln: and Social Responsibility a. DOROTHY W. MARTYN A Child and Adam: A Parable of the Two Ages Index of Biblical and Other Refe Index of Authors ie 169 191 217 255 29 297 317 335 347 FOREWORD In his nearly thirty years at Union Theological Seminary, New York, J. Louis Martyn has bad a subtle but profound effect upon a variety of areas of New Testament study. To the present time he is best known for his seminal labors on the Gospel of John, before History and Theology in the Fourth Gospel appeared in 1968, he bad ddone ground-breaking exegetical work on the relation between Paul and apocalyptic theology. In a set of recent articles® he has returned wthcoming Anchor Bible commentary on js work to fruition. As is evidenced in this volume, some of bis students and ftiends have, in dialogue with him, taken Martya’s awareness of the importance of apocalyptic and ‘explored its relevance for study of other areas of the New Testment “The interpenetration between apocalyptic and the New Testament vwill be further explored in this volume. As any reader of contemporary ‘New Testament scholarship knows, the precise definition of the word ‘apocalyptic’, and even the legitimacy of using it as a noun, are matters of intense debate, and readers of this volume will note that the authors have assumed a variety of explicit or implicit working definitions of the term. At times the word describes a genre of literature (apocalypse), at times it describes a type of eschatology, at times it describes a social movement (apocalypticism), and at times it describes 2 way of looking at the world. “This volume deals primarily with ‘apocalyptic’ as a way of looking at the world, After a tribute 10 Prof. Mé16 Apocalyptic and the New Testament Charles P. Anderson is Associate Professor of Religious Studies, Univeriny of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, ‘anada, Nancy J. DufT is Assistant Professor of Christian Theological Ethics 1 Brite Divinity School of Texas Christian University, Fort Wort, fexas, Paul Lehmann is Charles A. Briggs Professor Emeritus of Systematic ‘Theology, Union Theological Seminary, 3041 Broadway, New ork Dorothy W. Martyn, PhD, is a psychotherapist in private practice in New York City, and is married to Professor J. Louis Martyn, DEFINING THE WORD ‘APOCALYPTIC’: A PROBLEM IN BIBLICAL CRITICISM* Richard E. Starm term ‘apocalyptic’ has criticism throughout the one hundred fifty years it has been used. For some, ‘apocalyptic’ has positive connotations as a key 10 religious fanaticism. One might conclude to0 confusing and ambiguous 0 be of c desperate conclusion is unnecessary. True, the used variously and even contradictorily. But the very fact that the word continues to be used shows that there must be a need for it Rather than abandon the word, then, let us explore the problem of definition. ‘This investigation reviews the history of research on apocalyptic in order to see the ways in which others have approached the topic, and thereby to determine their working definitions and discern the aspects of ambiguity or issues of controversy associated with the word. This review is something like a detective story, a search for a missing person on the basis of reports from acquaintances over the past one hundred fifty years. But the search is complicated by the fact that these acquaintances differ widely regarding both the18 Apocalyptic and the New Testament character and the identity of apocalyptic. One particular question we shall have in mind is whether or not we can identify the apostle Pauls thought as ‘apocalyptic’. The Earliest Research on Apocalyptic In the first book of historical-critical research published on Fedrich Lacke states two pals st, 1 deteemine the Soceprand character of apocalyptic literature’, and second, to describe the history behind the literature These goals dominate all research on apocalyptic from Licke’s time to the present. Although Liicke lays the foundations for this research clearly and comprehensively, he a but they are approached as though they were independent of one another. As a result, Lacke’s analysis ofthe Daniel and the book of Revelation. Clustered around these 1wo ‘apocalyptic masterworks are the lesser Jewish and Christian apocryphal apocalypscs: the Sitylline Oracles, the Book of Enoch, 4 Bzra, the ope? pro resolve such questions as pseudonymous authorship, dating, and historical context, From this research on the book of Daniel, Locke these works critically, “attempting -to the scope of revelation, a particular reckoning of time, pseudonymity, an artistic presentation, a combination of visions and images, and the interpretive mediation of angels. Liicke sees apocalyptic literature as both related to, and in tension with, prophetic literature, but he indicates that apocalyptic is somehow inferior to prophecy. Such positive qualities as the ‘clarity of thought, STURM Defining the Word ‘Apocalyptic’ 19 simplicity and beauty of pure prophetic literature’ are contrasted with the ‘human capriciousness and phantasizing’ of apocalypric.* Liicke is not concerned with apocalyptic only as a literary phenomenon, however. He also intends to explore apocalyptic a8 @ theological concept. utset of his chapter on the ‘establishment ‘of the concept or theory of apocalyptic’, he notes that as far back as ‘the Greek church’, the ‘title’ apokalypsis, the heading traditionally given to the NT book of Revelation, has denoted the ‘essential content’ of various works of Jewish and Christian literature.’ He believes, therefore, that the word apokalypais is the place to begin his ‘essence of apokalypsis most simply as ‘the revelation of God’. He sees the book of Daniel asserting that God alone has, knows, and reveals the secrets of God. These secrets, ‘the OT mysteries, ordinances and laws of His kingdom, which no human being from his ‘own capacity and by way of natural knowledge can perceive’. He describes Christ as ‘the objective fulfillment of OT revelation, and hence the objective ground and beginning of all NT revelation’. Likewise, from his study of the use of apokalyprd by Paul, Laicke describes apokalypsis as essentially an act of God, by the mediation of ‘of God. Laicke sums up such discoveries to define apokalypsis as ‘the eschatological dogma, the Jewish and Christian {faith in the future consummation of the kingdom of God’ But this theological link between ‘apocalyptic’ and ‘revelation’ is never really argued in his subsequent study of either the characteristics of, or the in more ways than he intends. One approach of later research studies the characteristics and the history of the literary genre, offering critical interpretation ofthe corpus of apocalyptic iterature. Another ‘ours of a thought-complex called Jesus’ teaching, and ‘failure to pursue more fully the thenlogeal focus St apecaiypi may also initiate a troublesome ambiguity that can still be seen in the way20 Apocalyptic and the New Testament the word is defined and used. Let us consider the two main approaches in turn. Apocalyptic as a Literary Genre Adolf Hilgenfeld, in the full title of his book, Die jtidsche Apokalyprik in ihrer geschichtlichen Entwicklung: Ein Beitrag sur Vorgeschichte des Christentums (Jena, 1854), indicates his major goal: to explore the historical development of Jewish apocalyptic, which is a study as well of the pre-history of Christianity. In pursuing this interest, Hilgenfeld defines apocalyptic primarily in terms of literary genre. This can be seen by the fact that he that knowledge of the genre was widened and 19 Hilgenfeld explores apocalyptic literature as an expression of the historical experience of Judaism under Seleucid and Roman domination, arising out of the contradiction between contemporary circumstances and hope in a future kingdom of God. He criticizes Licke for allowing the book of Revelation to dominate his research, and he attempts to approach Jewish apocalyptic literature without reading back from the NT or the church, He thus ants to consider ‘Jewish apocalyptic’ as an historical entity in and of itself, including canonical and non-canonical works, both to be valued equally. But he sees apocalyptic as significant because it links OT and NT, prophecy and Christianity. Hilgenfeld’s positive approach to apocalyptic is not fequentl followed. Emil Schirer, a forerunner of the ralgoreguchichs Schule, in his monumental Geschichte des jiidischen Vokes im Zeitaleer Jesu Christi (Leipzig, 1873), does include ‘Apokalyptik’ as one section in his first edition, but he discards the section in his second edition (1886), incorporating its ideas under the heading ‘messianic hope’, and dealing with the literature only under a section entitled ‘prophetische Pseudepigraphen’. Such low estimation of apocalyptic is also seen in Schiirer’s distinction betw later ‘apocalyptic and older genuine prophecy: he sees apocalyptic expressing revelation not in prophecy’s distinct speech, but rather in a secretive STURM Defining the Word ‘Apocalyptic’ a form of riddles.!! Here Schiirer defines apocalyptic asa literary form related to, but distinct from, messianic dogma. Similarly, researchers of the literargeschichtliche Schule, including most notably Wellhausen and Dubm, envision such a radical break between Israel and Judaism that they discern Jewish literature after the Exile and beginning with Ezra as showing signs of ‘degeneration’. A vast gulfis posited for the centuries between the great prophets and Jesus, and apocalyptic is consequently defined as a body of literature that carries prophetic form and thought off onto an unfortunate tangent, Julius Wellhausen, in Geschichte Israels (Berlin, 1878), barely mentions the ‘gap’ in which apocalyptic literature arose, and in Israelitische und Fidische Geschichte (Guterslob, describes the book of Daniel as a step back to what ‘the Is ad in common with the heathen’, a retreat from the monotheism of the prophets.” Bernhard Dubm in Israels Propheten (Tobingen, 1922), argues that the apocalyptic literature of these supposedly vacuous centuries excessively emphasized the Law and eschatological hop¢: a reduction of prophetic ethical demands, on the one hand, and of prophetic ‘threats and promises’, oon the other." Despite such assessments generally demeaning of apocalyptic, two major contributions to research on apocalyptic are made at the beginning of this century: in Germany, by Emil Kautzsch, Die Apokryphen und Pseudepigraphen des Alten Testaments (Tabingen, 1900), and in England, by RH. Char srapha of the Old Testament (Oxford, annotating, and publishing the collect make the history, identity, and characteristics of the apocalyptic apparent than ever before. Kautzsch’s edition is less annotated than and he does at times speak pejoratively of apocalyptic." ‘an historical gap from Malachi to the Christian era thet was without inspiration and prophets. Charles sees the relationship of apocalyptic and prophecy to be extremely close, but differing in four ways: Apocalyptic expands the ‘scope’ of prophecy (1) to encompass all of time and the universe, adding to prophecy (2) the belief in a blessed fature life, (3) the expectation of a new heaven and new earth, and (4) the catastrophic end of the present world.!® On the basis of these four2 Apocalyptic and the New Testament clements of apocalyptic, Charles concludes that pseudonymity is not a universal or essential characteristic of apocalyptic, and he even speaks of a ‘Pauline apocalypse.” Historically, Charles sees apocalyp- tic arising out of prophecy in the fourth century, when the claims of the Law began to diminish the significance that prophecy had ‘enjoyed since the eighth century. Charles also affirms that under the rubric of prophecy, apocalyptic and revelation are intimately related; but his observation is only noted in passing.™® In England, appreciation of apocalyptic based largely on the work of RH. Charles is voiced first by HH. Rowley and later by D.S. Russell. In The Relevance of Apocalyptic (London, 1944), Rowley reviews the history and literature of apocalyptic. He asserts that one must distinguish between apocalyptic and and since ‘ideas of apocalyptic eschatology may be found not be described as apocalypses’, he purposely omits any reference to the writings of Paul! Rowley holds that when late prophecy saw history as moving swiftly toward a great climax and birth of a new age for a remnant of Israel, it was only a short step to apocalyptic, from which messianism developed, incorporating Son of Man traditions and giving increased prominence and definiteness to the t of a great world judgment. Most importantly, Rowley sees lowing distinction between apocalyptic and prophecy with to their respective views of time: Speaking generally, the prophets foretold the future that should arise out ofthe present, while the apocalyptists foretold the farure that should break into the present”? apokalypsis, with vision but then becoming identified again, Russell holds include “an impression or mood of thought and belief, more than essential concepts, features which characterize the literature of the STURM. Defining the Word ‘Apocalyptic’ 2 apocalyptists as distinct from their teaching’ As the ‘message’ of [Jewish apocalyptic, Russell includes such characteristics as time and history, angels and demons, messianic kingdom, Son of Man, and life after death. Russell's stated purpose in his book is ‘to work out the theological implications of these characteristics for New Testament study’ by referring directly to apocalyptic texts and recently published literature from Qumran and by studying the history behind them. His work is helpful, but it provides information on the literature of apocalyptic more than on its theology. Philipp Vielhauer, in his ‘Introduction to Apocalypses and Related Subjects’ asserts that apocalyptic literature is characterized by a doctrine of the two ages, pessimism and hope of the beyond, ‘universalism and individualism, determinism and imminent expecta- tion, and lack of uni ‘characteristics within the genre. For Viethauer ‘apocalyptic’ designates primarily ‘the literary genre of the Apocalypses, i. revelatory writings which disclose the secrets of the beyond and especially of the end of time, and then secondly, the realm of ideas from which this literature originates’? According to Vielhauer, the ‘character, formal peculiarities and fixed features’ of apocalyptic are literary, so that the following are ‘elements in the style of this literary genre’: pseudonymity, account of the vision, rapture and ecstasy experiences, surveys of history in future-form, ‘and literary forms and their combinations, eg. symbolic utterances, ‘visions, blessings, wisdom sayings, sacred sayings, farewell discourses, and paraenesis.# Vielhauer considers unresolved the question of the origin of apocalyptic, but he gives an excellent summary of previous theories: () that apocalyptic arose out of foreign ideas, especially Persian cosmological dualism, stimulating eschatological thinking in post- ‘esilic circles around 400-200 BC, as those communities became pressure from the anti-foreign Jewish theocratic establishment t apocalyptic is a continuation of prophecy; (3) that apocalyptic is an expression of ‘folkbooks’ or esoteric literature of rabbis; and (4) that apocalyptic is a product of Wisdom tradition. ‘accepts the first view: Apocalyptists combine eschatological expectation, dualistic ideas, and esoteric thought in a manner like that of the community at Qumran; they use the organization, materials, and forms similar to those of Wisdom circles; and they write their literature to strengthen and comfort% Apocalyptic and the New Testament their own particular community. In research to date on apocalyptic, Vielhauer’s summaries on the origin and characteristics of apocalyptic are often considered to be definitive. John J. Collins, in The Apocalyptic Vision of the Book of Daniel (Missoula, 1977), ‘Apocalypse: The Morphology of a Genre’ (Semeia 14, 1979), and The Apocalyptic Imaginatic Introduction to the Jewish Matrix of Christianity (New York, 1984), is convinced of some ‘prophetic origin of apocalyptic, but he argues for closer connection between prophecy and ‘mantic wisdom, as well as later apocalyptic influence on Wisdom writers. Thus Collins sees the relationships between prophecy, Wisdom, and apocalyptic as complex, and he follows: in a more restricted sense, derived from the opening verse of the book of Revelation (The Apocalypse of Joha) in the NT, to refer to ‘Serary compositions which resemble the book of Revelation i, secret divine disclosures about the end of the world and the beavenly state.” Briefly sommarizing apocalyptic works of ‘late Antiquity’, adds some precision to Vielhauer’s list of elements by discerning that the content of the ‘temporal axis’ of apocalyptic literature includes ren provides a chart to show which of these elements each of the major apocalypses. His concluding “apocalypse” is a genre of revelatory literature with a narrative framework, in which a revelation is mediated by an otherworldly is both temporal, insofar as it envisages eschatological salvation, and spatial, insofar as it involves another, supernatural world." More particularly, Collins believes that ‘the inner coherence of the genre’ is transcendence, ‘as seen in the otherworldly being mediating revelation’? In this statement Collins attempts to evaluate or give STURM. Defining the Word ‘Apocalyptic’ 25 priority to the various literary characteristics he discerns. But his definition of ‘apocalypse’ is so sweeping, transcendence may sound less like the heart of apocalyptic and more like a lowest common denominator of the gente. Let us now evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the research that has approached apocalyptic primarily as a literary genre. ‘Although the estimation and origin of apocalyptic have been radically disputed by researchers, now the scholarly consensus values this body of literature as our major source of information on of various religious ideas and traditions in the 3) temporal dualism, Moreover bss helped to determine the relationship of newly discovered documents (eg, from Qumran and Nag Hammadi) to the larger body of literary works. On the other hand, the literary genre approach is limited both by the fact that general characteristics may not apply to every work and by the need to weigh the significance of elements for ‘each text to show how priorities may differ form work to work. Ifone takes literary genre as a starting point for research, the ideas of apocalyptic are important but secondary, as general features character- link between apocalyptic and revelation is posited, w ‘Major questions must apocalyptic primar write apocalypses, like. their omission mean th images as ‘apocaly sefore be considered: If one approaches literary genre, must persons who did not Paul, be neglected or ignored? Would improper to refer to their ideas and Apocalyptic as a Theological Concept end of the mntury, we begin to find apocalyptic defined as a phenomenon, iterary in form but, more significantly, theological in content, precedents in religious idered to be an cxample thought. Here apocalyptic is general of the way in which Judaism and Christianity incorporated foreign religion and mythoiogy. To be sure, not all researchers of the